Choice
by neuroi
Summary: A character x male!reader series. [NSFW warning.]


It was May of 1944 when you were transferred as a mechanic to the base of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. You could hardly contain your excitement on your trip to Venizia. You would be working closely with the most famous and talented of Witches. Repairing their Strikers would be the greatest honor you had ever achieved. When the plane landed, you had to pinch yourself to keep from shaking. You took a deep breath and stepped out of the craft. Two witches were waiting to greet you: Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke and Mio Sakamoto, the leaders of the Squadron. Your eyes wide, you went to greet them.

"Hello." Minna said with an angelic smile. She always looked strangely at peace, even in the photographs you had seen of her in the news. "My name is Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke, and this is Major Sakamoto."

"Good to meet you." Sakamoto grabbed your hand and shook it firmly. Her smile wasn't nearly so peaceful. She seemed to have a spark of determination in her exposed brown eye, as if just meeting you was a challenge to overcome.

"I'm glad to meet you." You said coolly.

"Major Sakamoto will be showing you around base. I'll be in my office if you need anything."

"Thank you, Commander Wilcke." You replied.

With that, the red-haired Karlslander started toward the building behind her. Sakamoto seemed to be examining you as you watched Minna walk away. She let out a brisk "Hmph." and started after Minna. You trailed behind her obediently.

The two of you spent the day walking around the base. Sakamoto's introductions never got any easier as you met each Witch. They seemed friendly enough for the most part, and yet you couldn't escape the feeling that you had embarrassed yourself in front of them. At the end of the day, Sakamoto showed you through the hangar to your room. It was a small, plain room, with an adjoining bathroom. The bedroom had only a bed and a lamp, with just enough space to leave it. You dropped the backpack you had been carrying against the wall beside the bed for later, then turned around to face the Major. She seemed pleased with the lodgings she had given you. Apparently she didn't feel very bad for giving you such a bare-bones place to sleep. You shrugged it off. You were here to repair equipment, not to sleep. But for now, you were ready to be entertained.

"So what do you do in your free time here?" You asked the Major.

"We're lucky to have plenty of frivolities here." She answered, "We have a piano, a garden, a sauna..."

"What are you going to do now, Major?"

"Well, we've been walking quite a lot today. I wouldn't mind the warm water of the baths on my feet. Why do you ask? Did you want to come along?"

You shrugged. "I guess I'll just familiarize myself with the Strikers."

"Good idea, [Surname.]" The Major turned to leave. "I admire a man with a good work ethic."

You smiled gratefully, feeling honored that the Major admired something about you. You started to examine the different kinds of Strikers in the hangar. There was no point to it, really, because you had already memorized the types used by the Witches here. The MiG I-225 belonged to Litvyak, the Arsenal VG-33 to Clostermann... Then you spotted it. The Shinden. These Strikers had been specifically designed for Yoshika Miyafuji. You had never seen them in person before, and to do so made you drool. As you admired the machinery, you heard a crashing sound from overhead. Looking toward the source of the sound, you made out a small, dark shape. What could be hiding in the hangar? To find out, you would need some way to get up into the rafters, and the only way to do that was to find a ladder. You would have to ask someone where to find one.

You decided to head for the baths. The only Witch you felt comfortable talking to was Sakamoto. She was likely to know where to find the ladder. The Major had shown you the direction they were in, so you wandered that way until you reached the changing room. You knocked on the door, but there was no answer. You stood for a moment, thinking about what to do. You could wait for someone to show up and help you, or you could go in to find her. You made the wrong choice and entered the empty changing room, continuing until you reached the steaming pool of water. The Major's black hair faced you, and you could see that her shoulders were naked. She heard your footsteps and turned her head around to look at you. She looked half-embarrassed, half-infuriated. You were glad she hadn't turned her body around. At least this way you couldn't see her nude body.

"[Surname?] Do you need something?" Her tone sounded as if she was trying to disguise her anger. "Or are you taking a peek?"

"I-I'm so sorry! I don't mean to intrude, but..." You started. You already regretted your decision to come through here. "There's... Something in the hangar. It might do something to the Strikers."

Sakamoto rolled her eyes, turning away from you. She seemed to relax now that she knew you weren't trying anything funny. "Get out of here. I'll change and be right there."

You went back into the base, a little ashamed with yourself. Maybe somewhere deep down you had just wanted to see the Major that way? She had very pretty shoulders, to say the least. The rest of her was probably just as lovely. But she was your superior, and you had to respect her. She deserved to be respected. You were a simple mechanic, and she had been fighting Neuroi for the past ten years. If anyone deserved that kind of disrespect, it was you.

When the Major came out, she started for the hangar without speaking a word to you. You followed behind her. Was she upset with you? Did she still think you had bad intentions?

The two of you reached the hangar, and immediately something swooped down, barely brushing by Sakamoto's head. She yelped uncharacteristically. Now you knew the problem: there was a bat in the hangar. It had probably mistaken this place for a cave and settled in here, going unnoticed until now. The Major quickly regained her composure, watching the bat dart between the rafters.

"Let's get Bishop." Sakamoto suggested, "She's the best shot."

"You want to kill it?" You asked.

"Yes. If it's awake during the day, it's got to be rabid anyway. It'll die soon either way."

"Well, why don't we leave it to it then? Now that we know it's a harmless bat, there's no point in pursuing it. We can't catch it anyway."

Sakamoto looked up at the bat, which seemed to be settling down. She seemed upset by the logic. "Very well."

She started back the way they came. As you watched her walk away, you moved yourself to your room to unpack your bags. It would be best to leave her alone for now.


End file.
